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Congrats and Notes from an ND fan who attended the BCSNCG

Hello All,

Congratulations on your most recent title. I don't know exactly what other ND fans have said (or that you'd care) but I wanted to mention a few things from the perspective of a ND fan who attended the game and spent the weekend in South Beach.

- any ND fan that makes reference to the referees playing a role in that game is crazy. That was an epic physical pounding. Were there a couple calls that ND could have gotten or maybe even should have gotten? Probably. But who cares. That happens to every team in every game. Championship teams deal with tough breaks and get the job done regardless - that's what Alabama did.
- I don't think ND played particularly well but that had plenty to do with Alabama. Even if ND played significantly better, got every "questionable" call and maybe a couple other breaks, that would mean....they would have lost by 2TDs instead of 4. Maybe.
- the Alabama fans I met before, during and after the game were fantastic, with a few expections (but that's to be expected with any fan base that size). Frankly, given the severity of that thrashing, I was a bit surprised. I will say that I had really nice seats (club level, ND sideline) so maybe I was less likely to meet random guys looking to pick a fight. But, still, most people I met were knowledgable, kind and excited - just what you'd want to see.
- one small story to illustrate the point above: I was walking down the street in the middle of south beach after the game (just trying to get back to my hotel, obviously) when I saw two Alabama fans standing toe to toe screaming in each other's faces. As I got closer I realized what the argument was about.... One guy was furious at the other for taunting ND fans and essentially picking fights. He was screaming things like, "show some class" ; "don't ruin this for the rest of us" ; "why can't you just celebrate our win?" and, my favorite, "I'm not getting arrested because you're a redneck."
- saw Barrett Jones with his family in the airport on Tuesday. He was about 5 feet away from me. Kid could barely walk. We made dead eye contact and then he looked down at the giant leprachaun on my shirt....looked back up and sort of shrugged and half smiled. I gave him a little golf clap and he responded with a slightly broader smile and humble nod. Good kid.

I could say more about the game, etc but they are things you already know - mainly, the fact that Alabama dished out savage beatings from beginning to end all over the field.

I've enjoyed my time on this board in recent weeks. Not sure I'll be around too much more in the near future so I wanted to say goodbye and thanks. Hope to see you all again at next year's title game. Given the way this year's version went, I'm sure you'd be just fine with that.

Re: Congrats and Notes from an ND fan who attended the BCSNCG

Thanks Irish. Good to know there are plenty of real Irish fans than a few whiners I've noted following the game i.e. complaining about a couple of questionable calls in the first quarter. Like that would change the outcome? Look forward to any future encounters against the Irish.

My basset hound, Henry. 10-14-1998 - 04-09-2012
Remembering Victor Ellis #9
I would rather burn an American flag to protect the Constitution than burn the Constitution to protect the American flag

Re: Congrats and Notes from an ND fan who attended the BCSNCG

Thanks for the words and very classy post. I'd like to say how impressed I was with the ND team. I wasn't there but from my perspective from TV that was a very clean game. Unlike what we saw from UGA, there was no obvious jawing and cheap shots after every play. Most all of the post game comments were very respectful as well. I really like Kelly and the direction he has taken the program and expect to see ND competitive for years to come.
Congrats on your return to the top of college football where we both belong.

Re: Congrats and Notes from an ND fan who attended the BCSNCG

Thanks for the classy post NDinNYC2. I have two nephews, one went to Indiana and one went to Purdue, that are Irish fans--can't figure out why. Anyway, not only was one of them whinnnnnning about everything, he was trash talking AFTER the game!

Re: Congrats and Notes from an ND fan who attended the BCSNCG

I don't know if Notre Dame was as good as their record but they weren't as bad as they looked Monday night either. The fact they were able to manufacture 12 wins is a testament to what Brian Kelly seems to be doing there. The offense wasn't consistent, the defense was obviously overachieving relative to their across the board talent.

As much as people talked about the Notre Dame intangibles, Alabama had a lot in their own right. I admit that I didn't take much away from the Texas A&M in the following week. It is only within the context of the rest of the season that shows the mentality of this team. Alabama had a great player put them in a near impossible hole but they kept plugging away until they were within 2 yards of winning the game. Of course, they had a 4th down play well read by TAMU and it didn't work out. Still, you look at the LSU and Georgia...you see a trend, this team wasn't going to give up until the clock hit zero. They really took on the "will to not be denied" mantra better than any other Alabama team despite being one of the least seasoned on defense (the usual calling card for Alabama).

Notre Dame was really going to struggle with a team that was as mentally locked in as them but significantly more talented across the board. Notre Dame might have been able to beat a lot of teams for a title but this Bama team just wasn't one of them.